Peanut butter cup blossoms are one of my all-time favorite cookies. My mom always made the best (softest!) peanut butter blossoms with Hershey’s kisses. But every time I tried to make them, they came out hard—never as good as mom’s (looking back, I think was overbaking them). Several years ago my mom started making these peanut butter cup blossoms, and I was in love. She gave me the recipe (which she originally got from a friend she taught with for over 30 years), and I’ve been making them ever since. They are a family favorite!
Peanut butter cup blossoms can be made ahead and frozen. They are usually one of the first cookies I make for the holidays, t hen I just take them out of the freezer as needed.
Cookie made with a Hershey’s bell…yum…creamy…
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar for coating
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (use “regular” peanut butter—e.g., JIF, Skippy, etc.)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 48 Miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (or 48 Hershey’s kisses or Hershey’s bells)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place mini muffin liners into the cups of a mini muffin tin.
- Mix brown sugar and sugar using a spoon, until brown sugar is incorporated into the sugar.
- Add shortening and peanut butter and mix with a spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
- Mix in the baking soda, salt, egg and vanilla extract.
- Add flour and milk, mixing until combined.
- Shape 1 tablespoonful of dough into a ball (I use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough).
- Roll balls in 1/4 cup sugar.
- Place 1 ball in each mini muffin cup.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until tops just begin to crack.
- While the cookies are baking, unwrap 48 miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups.
- Immediately press a miniature Reese’s peanut butter cup into each cookie, pushing down until the top of the peanut butter cup is even with the top of the cookie.
- Remove cookies from muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
I ran out of peanut butter cups, so I used Hershey’s Bells for a few cookies. Just press a bell (upside down) into each cookie, pushing down until the top is even with the top of the cookie. The bells are creamy and made for a delicious alternative to peanut butter cups.
Instead of using a mini muffin tin, you can place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until tops just begin to crack. Immediately press a Hershey’s kiss onto the center of each cookie.